Such is the level of alarm in Nato circles at the advances made by both Ukraine and Russia in battlefield tactics that Ukrainian troops have started training British commanders in how to flood frontlines with thousands of drones to beat back so-called “meat-grinder” attacks used by the Kremlin to gain ground.
Germany is leading an initiative by six Nato members, including Norway, Finland and the Baltic States, to establish their own state-of-the-art defensive line using drones on the alliance’s eastern border to counter a future Kremlin incursion and its growing use of unconventional warfare tactics.
In Ukraine, mass-produced, expendable drones now account for 80 per cent of casualties inflicted on Russian forces, many of them caused by so-called first-person view or FPV drones directed by a remote operator to a target.
Caption: Ukraine has successfully deployed a ‘drone wall’ to repel Russian attacks (Source: Getty)
But there is increasing concern that Britain and its allies have been slow to respond and lack the capacity to design and manufacture the millions of drones needed to confront the Kremlin if Russian president Vladimir Putin turns his attentions to NATO.
He added that compared to the current production levels Ukraine and Russia, the drone output of European countries, the US and Asian allies “isn’t nearly enough for modern war, even if combined”.
“There is an urgent need to achieve the sort of scale in drones and other materiel that is going to give the Kremlin pause as far as meddling with Nato. As we speak, that is not happening.”
A leading think-tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), warned earlier this month that Russia could be in a position to pose a “significant military challenge” to Nato, particularly in the Baltic states, as early as 2027.
Several experts pointed to the fact that Ukrainian forces sent for training in the UK are now instructing their British counterparts in how to mount drone operations as stark proof that when it comes to the art of war, Nato increasingly needs to learn from Ukraine.
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The former commander, who was speaking to in a personal capacity, said progress is “too slow” and the UK’s defence sector, in common with other European countries, lacks the “agility” to scale up drone production.
The i Paper asked the Ministry of Defence whether it sees Ukraine’s “drone wall” as a model for UK forces, but it did not respond.
At the heart of the “drone wall” concept lies the idea that a frontline, or border, can be permanently patrolled at a depth of anywhere from 5km to 50km by an array of different UAV technologies, ranging from higher-altitude surveillance drones to off-the-shelf attack drones which are often modified using bespoke software and weapon delivery systems produced on 3D printers. The highly-detailed surveillance abilities of the drones can then be used to call in strikes from artillery, aircraft or other UAVs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shows Sir Keir Starmer Ukrainian military drones in Kyiv, earlier this year (Source: Getty)Yet the “drone wall” concept is particularly attractive to Western militaries not only because mass-produced UAVs offer low-cost lethality compared to expensive missiles and multi-million pound armour but also because they dramatically expand the area or “frontage” over which a body of troops can effectively confront an enemy.
He said: “Drones help by massively expanding an area under surveillance and then swarming drones and massing artillery fire in an area as an enemy tries to attack. In theory, you can defend very large areas with drones and fewer soldiers.”
He said: “I think the UK would benefit from continuing to invest into Ukrainian production lines and working with Ukraine to help export some of these drones and technologies. I don’t think the UK by itself is ready to produce the drones needed for warfare, but it can be done in closer partnership with Ukraine.”
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